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| #1  30-Mar-2009, 11:11 | ||||
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 Donnington, My First ever outing! ross anderson here, a big thank you to all for making my first ever race weekend a complete blast even if i have never felt so stressed out in my life. I arrived at what i thought was early friday evening and pitched my tent near nog and ghost and was blown away by the entheusiastic welcome from everyone. the tech knowledge and help from every one was appreciated and yes my bike and i need to loose a few kilos.!!!! I won the heaviest bike competion by a long way 187KG!!!! when Harriet's bike was 155 or something. The nightmare started with the heads, were they legal and thankfully skidlids gave the ok there then joy of joys the fairing wouldn't fit as the front header on my spaghetti system is too low so couldn't get the belly pan to fit. so follows a session with a hacksaw blade and a glass fibre repair kit where i succeed not only getting the belly pan sort of sorted but i now have the stiffest pair of jeans in christendom! so of to bed at around midnight to find two happy teenagers snoring away in the van. Nerves wake me nearly every hour on the hour until i finally give in and get up around 5:30, not knowing where the showers were, I had a cold stand up wash in the frankly very smelly toilets and then start removing the wheels to get the new tyres fitted. Holbeach tyres done a great job of fitting the tyres and then scruting beckons!!! No problems there but a couple of tips from the scrutineer see me back in the tent drilling holes in the body work for additional screws and tape on the wheel weights etc. Very ably assisted by Harrison( my son) and his pal cheese( sorry can't explain the nickname) with words of wisdom from Sarah, Nog, Ghost and Jamie Nicholson the bike is ready for practise!!! so first ride on the bike since conversion, first ride with a quick action throttle, new tyres and first time around Donny, so no pressure felt!!!! Well i took the opinion that the goal for the weekend and probably the season will be finishing, so gingerly I set off but still was grinning like a cheshire cat when the session was over. I had built the bike (mostly myself) and ridden it round a MotoGP circuit and we were all in one piece, YIPEE!!!!!!! Roll on Race 1. After a bit of a chill out saturday afternoon whith Jan doing a great job keeping us in warm beverages, once we had sussed out the issues with Nog's compressor, i kitted up and proceeded to the assenbley area where i lined up in my rightfull position dog last! during the start i was thinking about which way off would the flag man walk when all of a sudden everyone was moving and i had missed the lights completly. A tense and nervous ride followed but i achieved my aim and didn't fall off or knock anyone else off so again the grin was gigantic when i finished the race and earned myself a signature. woop woop!! Beers all round to celebrate, only little ones of course. then dinner and a trip to Redgates pub before bed and a well deserved restfull night. unlike the previous mentions the noise of the aircraft was not a problem all night, i slept like a baby, no i didn't wake up in my own bodily fluids! more fettling on Sunday with a gearing change and back rim change as i had a 5.5 inch rim on instead of a 4.5, cheers Nog for the loan of your spare rim! then ste packing up started only to be interupted by the DD meating where i win my first prize for the heaviest bike, see earlier for details, then even better i win a 4 Ltr jug of oil the same as i use in the bike woop woop, roll on race 2!! Race 2 begins better as i actually watch the lights this time and manage to out drag a couple of bikes into turn one where i lose my nerve and take it way too slow only to lose those two places straight away. i quickly appreciate the changes to the gearing and front forks as the bike is much more stable in the turn than yesterday. Shame i couldn't say the same about me. i was frankly SH*TE and all over the place so again survival was the objective and after starting to relax, the quick boys and girls started to lap me and went to pot again. i started to settle down again when i think on lap 6, going into the foggy S's i couldn't find a gear and after surviving the chicane in the wrong gear, i looked down and saw that my gear link rod flapping in the breeze. It finally fell off at the pit lane hairpin luckily where my lad was watching who just manage to stop the marshall from lobbing the rod into the grass and off i went with my first DNF. slightly dissappionted but still elated we quickly packed up and raced home to find a well done cake waiting at home. so thanks once again to all who helped out and all who made me fel so mwelcome to the series and ROLL ON ANGLESEY!!!!! PS soryy there is no pictures from me but i was far too busy to take any!! |
| #2 30-Mar-2009, 11:23 | ||||
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| Nothing better than reading the excited ramblings of a newbie racer! Only 9 more to go and you can burn your noddy vest Well done on making it through - we all start somewhere and as long as you're having fun that's the main thing to worry about! Good luck for the next round. I'd rather die peacefully in my sleep like my Grandfather, than screaming in terror like his passengers.- Jim Harkins Ducati 748S | Ducati Hypermotard 1100S | Ducati Panigale V4 SP #876 | 600-620SS DesmoDue Racebike #111 <-- Sold!! |
| #8 30-Mar-2009, 14:17 | |||
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| #9 30-Mar-2009, 15:00 | ||||
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| Nice one Rossco, we both poped our DD cherries. You pipped me in the race AND you just pipped me in the heaviest bike. Nice one.   Craig |
| #10 30-Mar-2009, 15:17 | ||||
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| thats the first race for some guys i remember that feeling!thats the first 'start of the season' grid that i havent been on in 6 years of racing, and the first race that i've not entered, in the past 4 years. and i'm missing it already  |
antonye
skidlids
Costed me my first race 
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